In
1974, I graduated High School. I had no problems. I was dating my future wife.
I was set for college. Everything in my life was fine, but for some reason, I
felt an overwhelming urge to read the Bible and find out what it was all about.
It was a strange feeling, like a hot poker in my mind driving me on. I read the
whole Bible that summer and kept on studying it throughout my first year of
college. I had gotten no real understanding of it, just an overview of facts
and history.
In the spring of 1975, a friend of mine was
dating a girl, Debbie, who went to a Bible study conducted at the home of a man
who had a Polish name so long that they just called him Mr. K. Debbie invited
me to go to the Bible study and I did. Mr. K. asked me many hard questions and
told me a lot of things that I really didn’t understand. Up until that time, I
felt that God was a “Big Accountant” and would measure me on a balance, so to
speak, to see if I was at least 51% good. If I passed, then I would go to
heaven. I don’t remember much of what Mr. K. told me. It was still so
confusing, but one thing I did do was to accept the sacrifice of Jesus on the
cross for my sins. I prayed to receive Jesus into my life as Savior and Lord. I
didn’t really understand the importance of that night until about two weeks
later when I was reading 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21 hit me: “God made Jesus
who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that we would become the righteousness of
God in Him.” I came to the conclusion that I would not go to heaven because of
my goodness, but because Jesus took my sins for me on the cross and gave me HIS
GOODNESS. GOT IT! I realized at that point that I REALLY WAS SAVED! Then I
cried.
I went back to Mr. K.’s Bible study one more time
and asked about different churches to join. He sent me to Springfield Baptist
and I’ve been there ever since. It was there that I learned more fully about
the gospel. I’ve come to realize that if Christ had not died for my sins that I
would face God alone in judgment and be found guilty and justly be sent to hell
forever. I also know that God loves me so much that if I had been the only
sinner in the world, then He would still move heaven and earth to save me
alone. I rest in a salvation so perfect and complete based on the merits of Jesus
alone to take me to heaven. I strive daily to live a life of obedience to my
Lord out of love and gratitude to a God who loved me first and so well.
The Almighty can do the same for you too. Accept
the fact that God must judge your sin and send you to hell forever for them.
Believe the fact that Jesus Christ paid the penalty of your sins on the cross.
That He wiped your sin slate clean and you can go to heaven, because He that
knew no sin became sin for us that we may become the righteousness of God in Him,
then live for Him in the new born again nature of a redeemed person. Accept
Jesus. Be saved. Tell others about Him. Walk with the King and be a blessing.
Come soon Lord Jesus Christ!
My mother had a difficult childhood that she only spoke
about on rare occasions, but God had a plan.He brought a teenager over from Italy who had nothing.They fell in love, got married, and struggled
to raise a family. My father would
always be trying to better our situation, which at times required mom to sign
papers, putting the little we had up as collateral.She always did this with complete trust in
him.God blessed this and things
finally began to turn around for us about the time I was entering High School.Dad always credited his success to Mom’s support.
This new chapter in their lives allowed Mom’s generosity to
emerge: from the presents that she would distribute to us from their many
travels, to birthdays, Christmas, and even Halloween.She loved Halloween.It was required that the grandchildren be
brought to the house for tricks and treats and that the family picture be taken
in costume for next year’s calendar.Mom
had an “open bowl” policy when it came to candy so everyone who came to the
door could pick out whatever and almost as much as they wanted.This meant that she would have to buy a
pretty good amount of candy...much more than my father thought reasonable.So she would kind of squirrel away bags
around the house and they would magically appear Halloween night.A few weeks ago, Mom used my Father’s trip to
New York as her opportunity to buy a hoard of chocolate for this year. She left strict orders that Dad was not to
know. So, in her memory my sisters, Linda and Lisa set up some of the candy in
front of the church as Mom’s last trick or treat and as a tribute to her we ask
that you take some on the way out.
Mom loved the many places that they travelled to all over the
world, but her real home away from home was only a few miles away.It was Strawbridge’s.Mom loved to shop the clearance racks and
after season sales.I remember about the
time my wife, Donna and I were married Mom started the Dickens’s Village
collection of porcelain houses for all of us. Beautiful pieces, we’d put them
up around the house at Christmas…absolutely gorgeous. Every year after Christmas, she bought out all
the pieces she could at a discount, then we would get a phone call:
“Hello…it’s me…your mother…Listen. I just got back from Strawbridge’s
and I got each of you kids the City Hall and the Victoria Station for the Dickens’s
Village.Now, they only had 3 wig shops
left so I got you an apothecary because you’re a Pharmacist, but because it was
cheaper than the wig shops, I bought you some extra townspeople, so you’re
actually making out a little better on the deal.When can you come over and get them?”
After a while, the Dickens’s Village series
ended and she wanted to start us on another collection, but by this time each
of us had an attic full of Dickens. We told her it was enough.
But that was all right because the grandchildren were here!She especially liked buying for the girls.
“Hello…it’s
me…your mother…Listen, I just got back from Strawbridge’s and I bought Victoria
some summer clothes.They’re size 6s…don’t
worry, she’ll grow into them. When can you come over to pick them up?”
Everyone at Strawbridge’s loved Mom.One lady who worked there would come into
the Pharmacy and tell me what a wonderful person Mom was.It even got to the point that if nobody had
seen her for a week she would come in and ask if everything was ok. “Sure,” I would say, "Mom’s away on another
trip.”
Then, the sad day came that Strawbridge’s closed. All of Mom’s friends retired or found new
jobs. Mom missed Strawbridge’s, but not
to worry. Only three blocks up the
street… was a Macy’s!
“Hello…it’s me…your mother…listen, I just got back from
Macy’s. I found this gorgeous prom dress
for Victoria…90% off.I know she’s only eleven…don’t worry, she’ll
grow into it.When can you come over?”
I, too, was on Mom’s “to buy for” list ever since she learned
that I liked collecting Star Trek.Every year she had an order of Christmas
ornaments for me.A few weeks ago she
called.
“Hello…it’s me…your mother…listen, I’ve got your Star Trek
50th year ornament.When can
you come over?”
I told her I could make it
Friday and we talked about our granddaughter and her great granddaughter, Ava’s
Baptism coming up and how excited she was to see her.
Then, a day later, she fell.A series of tragic events ensued which have now brought us all here
together today.As we leave and try to
live on with the hole that has been left in our lives with her passing, let us
comfort each other and not forget what our faith teaches; we have a Savior and He says to us, “There
is a better world that waits for us. This is not the end.I am
the Resurrection and the Life. I’ve won
the victory.I have overcome the world
and I will wipe every tear from your eyes because Death is dead!”
One day, I will go and
meet Jesus and He’ll say to me,”I’ve sent for someone to show you around
heaven.”Then, I’ll turn to see a beautiful
angel with a loving smile. She’ll come closer to me, reach out her hand and say,
It’s September, already.Where did the summer go? Between getting the
kids ready for back to school, when you spend so much money it’s like second
Christmas, and planning your “Labor Day Summer is Gone Last Hurrah Party” there
is another item thrusted onto your to do list: flu shots. Unlike those other
guilt ridden gotta-do’s like calling your mother or buying whatever your kid
has to sell to pay for their absolutely necessary four day band trip to
wherever; flu shots are the gift that keeps on giving.
First of all, flu
shots save lives, for people with pre-existing conditions like: asthma,
diabetes and chronic pulmonary disorders, it’s an extra line of defense against
a prolonged hospital stay or worse.The
elderly and the very young have a weaker resistance to the flu and need to be
protected. Pregnant women also show up on the “flu shot priority list” and even,
of all people, Native Americans and Alaska natives…go figure. Even if you’re a
healthy person, getting a flu shot will help ensure that you won’t be giving
the disease to others, like your parents, or your spouse and kids. This is
called: herd immunity.Hmmm…I’ll have to
ask my priest if this falls under a Corporal Work of Mercy. Lastly, getting the
flu sucks. When I was a young healthy buck and was going to live forever, I
never got a flu shot.I hate
needles.Then I got the flu. First, I
was afraid that I was gonna die, then I was afraid I wouldn’t. It was four
miserable days of sweats and chills, dizziness and nausea. No thanks! And now I
get one every year.
Then, after you
finally kick the flu and go back to work, the only good thing about that pileup
on your desk is that your boss can’t see you to give you grief for being
out.You’re coworkers flash you a pseudo
smile, ask how you’re feeling, and how glad they are that you’re back. All
because they want to make sure you’re not planning to call out again and
they’ll be shorthanded.You are so
getting stuck with planning the company picnic this year!Speaking of business, it cost about $10
billion in hospital and doctor visits each year because of the flu. That’s
probably why you’ve got this great immunization coverage in your company health
plan. See, they really do care! C’mon, it’s free, or almost! Get the shot.
And it’s oh, so
easy to get one, in fact, you almost have to try to avoid getting a flu shot.Most pharmacies and grocery stores this time
of year hawk vaccinations like melons at a Persian Market. Employees button
hole you in the aisles asking if you had your flu shot yet. Robo-calls and
texts bombard you daily. Coupons, discount cards, and points on whatever
program they’re running entice you to give up a little time and your arm for
your health. Guilt ridden announcements let you know that your flu season peace
of mind is only a rolled up sleeve away.
Getting your vaccination early is not a
bad idea. It takes a few weeks for your body reach full immunity from the shot,
so the sooner you get one the better. You’re going to want to be covered for
the holidays and after when the flu really hits. It’s a lot easier, to get it
in the late summer or early fall, too, when all you have is a light shirt
sleeve to roll up, rather than in the winter, when you have to take off your
parka, and a sweat shirt, and a sweater, and another shirt…
Why all the hype?
Well, of course, you know that any Health Care Professional (HCP) worth their
salt really does care and wants you to get immunized. The reason why they hassle you like a Bangkok
pimp is because they have to make a quota.Even before the
first shipment of vaccine arrives, each store receives their projection of shots
to be given for the year. It’s ambitious and like department stores trying to
capture pre-holiday Christmas sales, the push to get your totals in early comes
hard and heavy. District managers, like nervous mothers, hover over each day’s
results, because it’s hard to catch up if you stumble out of the gate. In order to help reach company goals you may
have a store sponsored flu clinic where you work. Take advantage of it. It will
not only relieve some of the pressure off your HCP but, it is convenient,
quick, and the boss will think that you’re a real team player. You can also get
other vaccinations that you might need such as: Pneumonia and DPT. Why not? I
mean, you’re there anyway. By the way, don’t think that you can call out the
next day claiming you got the flu from the shot. The virus they use is dead.
You may feel a little punky, sometimes, but suck it up and drag your sorry butt
into work anyway; remember the company picnic?
In my days of
giving immunizations I submitted a few suggestions to head quarters to help
increase our flu shot numbers. Although I never received a response, I believe
these ideas have some merit, so I’ll throw them out there, for what it’s worth,
to any HCP who may be interested. My first brainchild was; The Shot for a Shot
program. This is where you make a deal with the local tavern owners and give a
voucher for a free drink to any of the patrons who get a flu shot there in the
bar, of course they would have to get their hand stamped; only one to a
customer. This could help pickup business on a slow night: see, a Win-Win. This
program could also be expanded to bowling allies for a free game or admission
to a AAA baseball game to help increase traffic. They could both use the
slogan:“Strike Out the Flu”. That would
save big dollars on signs and advertising.
My best idea, by far, is to take over an empty
toll booth at a bridge or turnpike: the Flu Shot Lane! We could pick up all or
part of the toll for the car to pass. All they would have to do is give us
their insurance card and put their bare arm out the window. We could give
credit to E-Z Pass drivers and even more if the passengers get vaccinated too.
Long haul truckers would find this idea really convenient and just think of all
the shots you could give to senior citizens on excursion buses.
Finally, when the
flu season is over, the district is usually rewards the hardworking staff of
the store with the most shots with a Pizza party! Really? Not to look a gift
horse in the mouth, but you think with all the money they made for the company
that they could do a little better. So, I decided to dedicate a song to honor
all those hard working over achievers, who push the numbers for their team. I had
a few ideas: first was “Don’t Stop Injecting” sung to “Don’t Stop Believing” by
Journey, then there was “Flu Shot Hero” sung to “Jukebox Hero” by Foreigner,
but I decided on: “Flu Shot Queen” sung to “Dancing Queen” by Abba, because
these contests are usually chick things, anyway. I Hope you like it!
Flu Shot Queen:For you over achievers.
(OOOOO)
You can draw. You can
stick, really for you it’s no trick.
See that girl. Watch
that scene. Digging the Flu shot Queen.
The end of summer has
come around,
You get a package
from Fed Ex Ground.
Check it in and store
it. You know what to do.Nobody will get
the flu.
Hey there! Mister
now, don’t be shy.
C’mon now you don’t
want to Diiie.
And you’ve got
insurance.You’ll get yours for
free.Don’t walk away from me.
And now it’s plain to
see…
You’ll be the Flu
Shot Queen, smart and keen, working behind the screen.
Flu Shot
Queen…recognized by the CDC…oh yeah.
You can draw.You can stick, really for you it’s no trick.
(OOOOO)
See that girl. Watch
that scene. Digging the Flu Shot Queen.
All your techniques
are first rate.
You’re so good you’re
getting Daaates.
Boney armed old
ladies, truckers with tattoos; they’re all the same to you.
And since you saw it
through…
You are the Flu Shot
Queen…smart and keen working behind the screen.
Flu Shot Queen…recognized
by the CDC…oh yeah.
You can draw. You can
stick, really for you it’s no trick.
See that girl.Watch that scene.Digging the Flu Shot Queen
So I hope that I’ve encouraged and enlightened you to get
out there and get that flu shot ASAP. Go see your HCP. Roll up that sleeve and
take one for yourself and humanity. Maybe they’ll even give you a fancy
band-aid and a cookie. What the heck! Bring your whole family and make it a bonding
thing. Why should you be the only one having fun? Then chalk it off your to-do
list. Then the only thing left for you will be the car inspection, and the
radon test, and back to school night, and…
My mother-in-law, Marianne Finnegan, passed away last July. She was a fun loving-person, who enjoyed a good joke, but could never tell one. While we were going through her belongings, we came upon this:
A 'WC' is an English or German bathroom or Water Closet.
Some time ago, an English Lady was looking for rooms in Switzerland and asked a schoolmaster if he would recommend any. He took her to several places and, everything being arranged, she decided to take one of the rooms.
On her way home, however, it occurred to her that she had not noticed a WATER CLOSET. She immediately wrote the schoolmaster to ask if there was a W.C. in or near the house. The Schoolmaster, upon receiving the letter, was baffled, for he did not understand the abbreviation W.C.
Finally he asked the parish priest to help him. Together they tried to find out what the lady meant and concluded that she meant a "Wayside Chapel". So they wrote her the following letter.
Dear Madam:
I have the pleasure to inform you that the W.C. is situated only nine miles away from the house in the center of a beautiful grove of trees and surrounded by beautiful and magnificent scenery. It is capable of holding 25 people.
It is open Tuesday, Thursday, and Sundays of each week. There are a good number who go during the summer months. I would advise you to go there early if you want a good seat, although there is plenty of standing room. This is an unfortunate position, especially if you are in the habit of going regularly.
No doubt you will be glad to know that a number of people take their lunch with them and make a day of it, while others who cannot spare the time travel by car and arrive there just in time. I would advise your ladyship to go on Thursday because there is an organ accompaniment on that day. The surroundings are really excellent and even the most delicate sounds are audible.
It may interest you to know that our daughter was married in the W.C. and as a matter of fact, that is where she first met her husband. I remember well the rush for seats on that particular day. There were exactly 10 people on the seat I usually occupy.
It was wonderful to watch the changing expressions on their faces. A wealthy resident of the district recently donated a bell for the W.C., which rings each time you enter it.
My wife is rather delicate and cannot go regularly. It's been more than six months since she last went. Naturally, it pains her very much not to be able to go more often.
I shall be glad to save a seat for you.
Yours Truly.
I remember when my wife read this out loud to us and we couldn't stop laughing. We live on in the hearts of the people we touch. Mom you will always be with us; laughter and tears.
You are standing before the
judgment seat of God and He asks you the question” Why should I let you into My
heaven?”What are you going to say? Take
a minute and think about your answer. Got it? OK, just keep it in the back of
your mind. In looking at the judgment Jesus doesn’t say “You didn’t do enough of
this or too little of that.” But, He will say to some, “Depart from Me.I never knew you”. This reveals an all
important point: that salvation is extremely personal. So how do you get to
heaven: pray the right prayers? Do more good things than bad? Be sincere? The
Bible is pretty clear that it involves faith in Jesus Christ. I hope that was
at least part of your answer. Faith is a tricky thing, however.
First, saving faith is not only an
agreement with church teachings. You need orthodoxy to lay a firm foundation
for faith. It is absolutely essential, but just agreeing with a creed or
catechism isn’t enough. You can tell by the people who come to church every
Sunday and drone through the Mass, while others seem to have an extra dimension.
We can assume that everyone there has faith. There is head faith but no heart
faith. How do you become a Catholic that “gets it”? Let’s look at the sacraments
to start.
There are three things needed for a
sacrament to be valid:elements, word
and faith. When we baptize an infant there is the element: water; the words: “I
baptize you” and faith? Since the baby has no faith at this point the faith of
the Church stands in for the infant until some future time when the child will
come to faith in Jesus. So, after learning the teachings of the Church; this
person must apply the truths learned to have a “Come to Jesus” moment or Second
Conversion (CCC 1427-1430). I think this
occurs in the spiritual part of ourselves and can be demonstrated by our
response to the sacraments.
The first sacrament of faith in our
spiritual selves is Matrimony not Baptism. Jesus comes to us and asks “Will you
marry me? I offer you suffering, sacrifice, a cross and death, but also eternal
life and glory.Will you marry me”? You
say, “Yes. Yes, Jesus, I will marry you”. Then you two come before the Father
and become one in eternal marriage. Since you are now bound to Christ, all that
is His is yours and all that is yours becomes His; including your sin.
Now the Eucharist comes into play
when Jesus takes all of your sins upon Himself physically upon the cross, but
you also in a spiritual sense die with Him. The two have become one. What happens
to Him happens to you. You both die because the penalty of sin is death. Since
Jesus was successful in His mission to pay for our sins, a just God can now
offer you reconciliation and forgiveness: the third sacrament.
The evidence that Jesus was
successful in paying for our sins is His resurrection to new life on Easter
Sunday. We too then rise with Him to new life by the washing of regeneration
and the power of the Spirit. God, Himself, baptizes us. The Holy Spirit
indwells us also at this time to give us the ability to live this life in
Christ. We are born again of water and of Spirit in our spiritual selves. Baptism
and Confirmation take place here in the spiritual realm and our heart faith
becomes complete, without which there can be no salvation. Baptism and
Confirmation are the last sacraments in the spiritual dimension, but the first
in the physical dimension.
All the sacraments in the physical
world have validity because they have already occurred in the spiritual world
of faith. Our infant baptism now becomes personal at our Second Conversion and
is the sacrament of testimony of our new birth, which allows initiation into
the Mystical Church. Confirmation is also personal and active as the Holy
Spirit moves in our lives here on earth to change us into the image of Jesus.
As we grow in our Christian life we have the sacrament of Reconciliation to
keep us on the road of grace and the Eucharist to renew our souls in the
journey. There is a new life of joy and peace.All of our sacrifices and works are done out of love of God not to get
to heaven. But because our heart faith is real, we are on our way to heaven.
When this world ends the marriage is completed in every sense at the marriage
supper of the Lamb and we will live forever with the One Whom we love.
Salvation is extremely personal. So
where are you? Do you have the heart faith or just head faith? Do the things of
God excite you: prayer, worship, meditation, Bible study or are they boring? Do
you want to go to heaven and be with this God or do you just want to avoid
hell? Not sure? Then pray.Seek God like
a lover and you will find Him; any that come to Him He will in no way cast
aside.
Of all the shows on TV, my wife and I like the Amazing Race the best.If you’ve never seen it, the “Race” usually
starts off with about 14 teams.These
teams are made up of a cross section of American demographics:spouses, gay and straight couples, ethnic
groups, co-workers, family members…any two people who want to go through the contest
together. To make it more exciting, my wife and I each pick a team by the third
leg and root for them until the end.The
contestants travel the world completing challenges along each leg of the race
as quickly as possible or face elimination.Each of them will stretch themselves to their limits as they vie for the
grand prize…ONE MILLION DOLLARS.
Now a million dollars seems like a lot of money, but split it
with your team mate and then take out the taxes, you’re still talking real
money, but not so much. There can only
be one “million dollar” team.The others
are gone…gone…gone, with perhaps a small prize for coming in first on one of
the legs along the way. So why do it? If
you can stop obsessing about the prize for a second, this is a great way to see
the world and experience its cultures. The real importance of the Amazing Race
is how each teams’ character is revealed under pressure.
Racers that appear to be so “lovey-dovey” when things are
going well, eat each other up when elimination looms ahead. As you go through
the “Race” the intensity mounts. The true winners are the teams that treat each
other with love and respect when the going gets tough.It’s the only realistic prize you can walk
away with in the end, since the odds are stacked against you for the million. The take away lesson from the Amazing Race
is: how would I treat the other person
on my team as we were going through a rough patch?Would I be supportive or corrosive?
Life is an “Amazing Race.” The teams on the show are the real representations of our relationships
and we compete along with them every day.Let’s enjoy them as we travel on each leg of our day-to-day race, whether
you achieve the success that you’ve carved out for yourself or not.Run the race to win it! Keep your eye on the
real prize…each other.
Dynasty!In the 1980’s my wife and I watched it religiously.It was a series about an oil tycoon and his
family, fashioned in the Dallas genre and modeled in the soap opera formula where smart people make dumb
choices. They had a butler named
Joseph.Every morning he would set up a
grand buffet with:bacon, eggs, Danish
and pancakes. Without fail, each person
would find their way down to breakfast, see the banquet all set up and say, “Just
coffee, Joseph.”It was so regular that
I used to mouth the lines along with the actors.“You poor people,” I thought, “You have all
this and you can’t even sit down for an omelet.”
I guess it’s all a matter of what you’re into…priorities, I
mean.They were already into their day
even before they showered.Breakfast,
the most important meal of the day according to an Iowa study, was not on the
docket.Coffee and off we go to plow
through the morning, busy making dumb choices probably due to
hypoglycemia.I’m not harping on
breakfast.It’s the idea of having so
much, yet choosing so little.
I think that for many
of us, Church is the uneaten banquet.It’s something you do for an hour each week.We go in, sit down, stand up, sing a hymn,
listen to the pastor and participate in communion.Nothing touches us deeply, no changes, no
confession… just a wafer, Jesus.We do
it week after week, year after year, if we go at all, and treat it with so
little regard because it’s always there. Just as the Hebrews whined in the desert, “All
we have to eat is this…this…manna.” This manna that shows the loving provisions
of a personal God, which miraculously appears on time daily in the morning
without fail.They didn’t have a
relationship with the Giver so His provision was held in contempt.Our
religion is predictably redundant, which renders the God of the Universe…irrelevant
and boring. The key is that religion IS boring. God is all about the relationship.
All relationships take effort. Bible and prayer are no exception. The payoff is phenomenal for the person willing
to cultivate a connection with the Almighty. Faith becomes an adventure, worship a celebration and the wisdom of God
helps us deal with life.Communion
reaches a higher level when you seek God as a lover. I often
thought one day instead of setting up the breakfast buffet Joseph should just
stack a couple of cups on a table, plug in a Keurig, and leave a note, “This is
all you’ll get because this is all you ever want.”Let’s be done with lesser things. No more excuses.Come
to breakfast.
